After leaving the Hall of the Mind, my body was drained, but my thoughts burned sharper than ever. Every step echoed through the marble corridor of the academy like the pounding of a heavy heart. The students who saw me walk back alive from the labyrinth stared with a mixture of awe and suspicion.
The Headmaster was waiting in front of another gate—larger than the first. On its surface was carved a blazing flame coiled around a heart. When I stopped before him, his voice thundered like distant drums:
— "A mind without a strong heart… is nothing but an empty tool. The second trial is the Trial of the Heart. Here you will not face your thoughts, but your feelings, your fears, and your deepest desires. If your heart is weak… the flames will consume you."
He pressed his palm against the symbol, and the gate burst open with an explosion of fire, like the jaws of a dragon opening for its prey.
The heat struck me like a blade as I stepped inside. The chamber was a living volcano: cracked ground bleeding molten rivers, black stone walls glowing with veins of fire, and at its center, a narrow stone bridge suspended over a seething lake of lava.
A voice thundered from every direction:
— "Cross… but know this: every step will reveal the fire within your heart."
I set foot on the bridge. The world trembled. Flames twisted into an image before me—my grandfather on his deathbed, eyes closed, his voice fading.
— "Why did you leave me?!" I cried out. But the vision vanished into smoke.
The second step came, and a new figure appeared: my teacher, standing with his back to me. His voice was cold:
— "You are not worthy… You are nothing but a shadow."
Anger roared in my veins, but I knew this was not truth—it was my weakness given form. I shouted back, more to remind myself than to defy him:
— "I am no shadow… I will forge my own light!"
The flames recoiled, the trembling bridge steadied.
Halfway across, the lava itself erupted. From its depths rose a colossal dragon made of fire, wings of flame stretching across the chamber, eyes burning like twin embers. Its voice shook the stone:
— "The weak heart burns to ash… but the strong heart tempers fire itself. Prove your worth!"
The dragon unleashed a storm of fire. Instinct took over—I drove my sword into the stone, raised my hand against the inferno, and roared:
— "I will not be consumed by these flames… I will make them my strength!"
The fire coiled around me—but it did not burn. It surged into my body, igniting my veins, my skin glowing crimson for a heartbeat. The emblem etched on my academy sigil flared on my palm, alive with power.
The dragon shrieked, striking the bridge with its claws. Stone shattered, and I nearly plunged into the abyss. Clinging to my sword, I pulled myself up, eyes locked on the beast.
— "I do not fear the fire… I AM the fire!"
I leapt forward and drove my blade into its chest. The explosion shook the chamber—but instead of dying, the dragon dissolved into pure white flame, which rushed into me just as the weaker self had in the Trial of the Mind.
Silence fell. The bridge solidified, the lava cooled into gray stone, and the gate at the far end opened wide.
I staggered out, drenched in sweat, but my eyes blazed as though I had been reborn.
The Headmaster stood waiting. This time, a glint of admiration flickered in his eyes, though he fought to hide it behind stern composure.
— "The Trial of the Heart… You've passed. Few leave that place alive. Fewer still return stronger."
Despite the exhaustion, I smiled.
— "There are still more trials ahead… and I've only just begun."
The instructor beside him chuckled, shaking his head.
— "Boy, what lies ahead isn't just harder… it will decide who you truly are."
I stood tall, sword in hand, its pulse beating like a second heart.
"Then let me face it all."